GTA landscaping and snow removal company facing multiple claims from workers and customers

The owner of a Vaughan-based landscaping and snow removal company, operating under multiple names including Snow Pros LTD and Grass Guys, is facing claims of not paying workers and not providing services to some clients who paid.  

Speakers Corner has received dozens of emails asking us to look into the company. Our team initially agreed to meet with three former workers of the company at an Etobicoke park. When we arrived, there were nearly 15 people waiting to tell their story.  

Janelle Lavellee was one of them. She worked on job sites but also helped the owner recruit new workers.  

But after a recent December snowstorm where many of those workers put in multiple hours during the holidays and never got paid, she asked to be laid off.  

“I told them I could not bring anybody back into this company in good faith. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”  

She said all staff were notified they were being terminated in a January 6 text message from the owner.  

“His M.O. seems to be: hire people, get them to work as much as possible, let them go without paying them, and then re-add more people,” Lavellee said. “It’s been bad since the very start. He hasn’t paid me on time once. It’s always an excuse as to why, like he’s run out of e-transfers or his accounts are frozen.”  

Lavellee recalls an incident back in the fall when the owner laid off another round of employees.  

“He had me hire 75 shovelers, had them work a few shifts then had me lay off every single one. Then Christmas morning he said, ‘Are you able to do interviews today? We need to hire more people.’ I was like, ‘What about paying the ones who were let go?’”  

Paul Edwards said he worked for the company since 2021, then called Project Perfection. He said he saw issues, like delayed payments and layoffs, but continued with the company.  

“My payments may have been delayed, but I was receiving them, until this latest incident when we were all laid off,” Edwards shared. “I am currently owed approximately $7,000 in back pay and the owner is not answering our texts or phone calls.”  

Clients also demand answers 

Adrien Bruno says he paid Snow Pros $1,000 for the winter season to service his property.    

“It was never a good service that was provided but it was passable, up until this year when they came twice, two to three days after the snowfall with a snow blower in a sedan. After that, they stopped coming.” He said his attempts to reach the company have been unsuccessful.  

“He has changed the business address from what appeared to be his home to a P.O. Box.  When you send an email complaining, the email bounced back as does not exist,” shared Bruno. 

Bruno joins a chorus of other disgruntled clients, all sounding off on the Better Business Bureau’s website which currently lists the company has having an “F” rating.  

“He claimed to me that he has more than 1,000 clients across the GTA,” said former office worker Jessica Pugliese, who said her inbox was often inundated with customer complaints.  

“There’s a lot of upset customers. I feel bad because there’s a lot of elderly ones who need to go to medical appointments and now, they’re out of money and they don’t know what’s happening,” she said. 

Pugliese said she is also owed back pay.    

Owner responds to claims 

Speakers Corner was able to find records which lists the businesses as being owned by Ryan Hunter, who lives in Vaughan. He declined numerous requests to talk on the phone or meet with us in person. He instead issued a lengthy statement.  

“In recent weeks, the company faced a rapid and unexpected breakdown due to multiple factors. Unfortunately, this led to unfulfilled promises as circumstances spiraled out of control, seemingly by the minute.” Hunter blamed a wide variety of issues leading to the current problems.  

He said there were multiple vehicles, owned by the company that were stolen, although when asked, he did not yet provide any police report incident numbers as proof.   

He also blames some workers for employee misconduct.  

“Instances of employees reporting that they were working while actually completing tasks on our app from home to make it look like they were working.”  

 He said some former workers intimidated current employees at job sites, encouraged others to quit, said some workers intentionally damaged vehicles by pouring sugar into gas tanks and claims payment disputes filed by clients lead to some banks blocking e-transfer payments due to what he calls false fraud reports.  

He told us he understands people are upset but made it clear his statement is not an admission of guilt, going on to say all employment, financial, and legal matters are being addressed through the appropriate regulatory and legal channels.  

“I sincerely regret the impact this situation has had on employees and their families, especially those uninvolved in the events leading to this crisis. This outcome was not intentional, and I did not benefit from it. It has been devastating for my family and me both personally and financially.”  

We asked Hunter if he is still recruiting clients and servicing customers, but he did not respond. As for the pay owed to workers, he said he is actively in the process of selling company assets to pay outstanding employee wages as much as possible. He could not however provide a specific timeline or guarantee but assured us addressing back wages remains a priority.  

His former workers are skeptical, and Peter Mieras understands why. He worked for Hunter back in 2024 and said he has still not been paid for work he did.  

“None of this is new, it had been going on then as well, always with payment issues.”   

Many former workers have filed complaints with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, hoping they look into their claims.  

“I don’t know how the Ministry of Labour has not flagged this at this point,” Lavellee said.   

Workers are also considering taking legal action. But so far, no lawsuit has been filed. 

If you have an issue story or question you’d like us to look into, contact us here.

STORY NOTE: Snow Pros is used by other companies operating in the GTA with no affiliation to the complaints raised in this story.